A new hope is on the horizon. I feel so free now. With Mr. Ji-Oh gone, my Aunt with me, and a new school, everything was perfect. Yes indeed, I was scared at first, but now I feel like I could take the whole world.

I get wheeled out and hop into the car. Inside, my Aunt sat next to me, and a driver waited.

"Rhou-rhou, how was your breakfast? Or do you prefer takeout leftovers like we did at the apartment?" my Aunt asked.

"I liked the homemade food more," I replied.

"Well, good then. Was there anyone troubling you?" my Aunt asked.

"There was that Scottish maid," I said, without thinking.

"Alright, it'll be taken care of," my Aunt said.

When my Aunt said that, I was too focused on the road, lost in my thoughts. I just said a simple,

"Okay."

I didn't know what the consequences were.

Finally, we arrived at my new elementary school. It's so ironic. The first day of school in kindergarten, we only could take either Auntie's motorcycle or the taxi, and now the first day of elementary school, I'm riding a Mercedes. How times and money change someone is so interesting. We used to live in a middle-low-income family, and now we're on top of the world. We are rich. But it changed my Aunt. Yes, she's still loving me, but she's now spending more, she's now bossy, and she's slowly turning selfish. Is this what happened to my mother's family? I think I'm starting to get them.

We arrived at school. Everyone was looking at our car. Amazed, curious. My Aunt, before moving here, had recommended me to go to a private school. But because Victoria can't, I insisted on going to the same public school as Victoria. My wheelchair was prepared, and I hopped on. Suddenly people moved their eyes to me. I was surprised. The sensation started flooding in. People's stares were everywhere. I started feeling sick. I didn't know what they were thinking, what they were planning. I was so scared that I wrapped my head with my hands. As we slowly got wheeled inside, the school entry wasn't too far from where I was dropped off, but it felt so long to get inside. It felt like I was prey in a lush jungle, predators looking at me, examining me. Ready to strike!

Inside, Victoria was waiting.

"Hiyya Rhou!" Victoria greeted me, happily like she always is. "Hi Vic," I said with a heavy mind after what happened.

"You seem sad. Rhou, this is our new teacher, Mr. Adams," Victoria said while pointing to a 60s-year-old man.

Mr. Adams looked old. He looked at me. He observed me, his eyes slowly moving from the top of my head to my feet. Over and over and over until he said,

"What is wrong with your foot?" he said with his French accent.

"I have an illness that makes me can't walk," I answered, a little intimidated.

He then looked at me one last time before leaving.

"Vic, Mr. Adams is weird," I said.

"You'll get used to him. Now let's go to class, shall we? Rhou, I'll wheel you there," Victoria said, while also dismissing my assistant who was wheeling me before.

We then got to our classroom.

"Welcome to classroom 1-A, Rhou," Victoria said while pushing me in.

It felt different than kindergarten. It wasn't the warm welcome I expected; it was a cold and suspicious look in my classmates' eyes. I sat in the front row, of course. Right beside me was Victoria, and on the left, next to the window, was a boy with quite long bangs. I was curious. He didn't look American, or like any other people I've seen.

"H-Hello there?" I greeted him, a bit reluctant.

"W-Who ar-are you talking to?" this mysterious boy asked.

"You, of course. Who else would I be talking to? You're funny," I said with a smile.

"O-Okay," he said with a sad tone.

"Why are you sad? What's your name?" I asked.

"M-My name's Tatsuya Thomas. Nice to meet you. A-and I-I'm not s-sad, it's just that..." he said.

"What?" I asked. "What is it, Tatsuya??" I asked again with a big smile.

I don't know why, but because of him, I felt happy. Relieved. Maybe it's because of those bangs, I thought to myself. I then unconsciously moved my hands to Tatsuya's hair and touched them.

"Eeek," Tatsuya said when my hand touched his hair, surprised and shy.

"Go on then. Were you sad?" I asked.

I didn't know what this feeling was. But I wanted to be cool in front of Tatsuya.

"I just... don't... like people... saying that I'm funny... because they'll make fun of me," Tatsuya said.

I laughed.

"No. Hahaha. That's not it. You're funny because you're cute," I said.

"R-really?" Tatsuya said.

"Yeah," I said. "Oh, and my name's Rhoua Belle Rodriguez. Call me Rhoua! What should I call you?" I asked.

"What age are you?" Tatsuya asked.

"Eight. Why?" I replied, confused.

"Call me Tatsuya-kun," he said.

"Tat-su-ya-kun. Tatsuya-kun. I like it! Tatsuya-kun, Tatsuya-kun, Tatsuya-kun, Tatsuya-kun!" I said excitedly.

"Stop!" Tatsuya said, embarrassed.

"Tatsuya-kun, Tatsuya-kun, Tatsuya-kun, Tatsuya-kun," I said more before Victoria came to our seat.

"Are you two getting along already?" Victoria asked.

"Yes. Are you jealous?" I asked with a cocky voice.

"Yes. I am," Victoria said, looking at me. She then looked at Tatsuya.

"What's your name?" Victoria said, assessing Tatsuya.

"M-My name's Tatsuya Thomas," Tatsuya said. Victoria then took another look at Tatsuya from head to foot.

"Hmmm, alright then. Just to let you know..." Victoria said, then held me by the shoulder. "I'm her childhood friend. Don't mess with her," she said to Tatsuya.

"O-Okay," Tatsuya said, shy.

Then suddenly, some boys came to our table.

"Hey wheelchair girl? What's up with you?" a boy said.

"I can't walk," I said, while looking at them.

"Really? Hmmm. Alright then," the boy said and left with the other boys.

"Don't go near them," Victoria said, concerned. "They're bad news," Victoria said.

"Alright," I said.

Mr. Adams then arrived.

"Settle down, kids, let's start today's classes," Mr. Adams said.

As the class started, I thought to myself. What does Victoria mean by bad news? Who are they? What are their motives? It's a new school, and I'm scared of what's gonna happen to me. Are they... bullies?

To be continued....

*Note: This is a work of Fiction. Any Names, Organization, Etc are fictional. So is any actions here.